


Geriatrico

by Akela_Victoire



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bad Parenting, Gen, Neglectful Children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-05-24 01:05:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6136123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akela_Victoire/pseuds/Akela_Victoire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien get together at the library one weekend to work on a particularly tough Physics assignment. Meanwhile, an elderly man, Vincent Allard, has an argument over his granddaughter with his own daughter Simone. Feeling angry at and scorned by Simone, Vincent becomes Hawk Moth's latest victim- Geriatrico, a villain who can drain the youth of others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look. Another Miraculous multichapter fic by me. Who knew?
> 
> Cross-posted on fanfiction.net under the name Akela Victoire.

In the bedroom of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, all was calm and quiet.

The morning sun, just emerging to light up the Parisian skyline, shone against the windows, though its effects were muted as the curtains were drawn.

On the bed, lay a pile of blankets and pillows, which were scatted around it, some barely even on the bed at all.

A pale foot poked out from under the blankets and a faint sound of breathing could be heard if one listened closely.

It was all very serene.

Then, everything changed when the alarm clock went off.

"AAH!" Marinette screamed and kicked the blankets off herself and the pillows went flying across the room.

However, as soon as she attempted to get up, she managed to get tangled in the sheets, tripping and falling to the floor, landing with a loud thud.

 _"Ow..."_ Marinette moaned pitifully.

Tikki's voice chuckled lightly from inside a wardrobe with its doors left slightly ajar.

 _"Only you, Marinette, would make the simple act of getting out of bed such an event!"_ the Kwami flew out. "You're lucky Hawkmoth hasn't sent a bed sheet themed Akuma after you and Chat Noir!"

"I'd be gone for sure if he did..." Marinette groaned as she extracted herself from the mess of sheets. "My Miraculous would be totally in his hands..."

"We'll just have to make sure that we don't let that happen then," Tikki said sagely. "Now, you have more pressing matters on your hands. Like getting ready for school!"

Marinette groaned. _"No..."_

* * *

"Okay, students. You all have your weekend homework down and I expect to see it completed promptly on Monday morning!" Mme Mendeleiv said as the class packed up.

"There goes _my_ relaxing weekend..." Alya muttered under her breath.

 _"I'll say..."_ Marinette glared at the textbook with such venom that if it had been looks that could kill, the unfortunate textbook would have been reduced to ashes.

"Unless..." Alya turned to the boy seated directly behind her, who had been ranting to Adrien about the assignment in a rather lively manner.

Nino abruptly stopped mid-rant and turned to his girlfriend.

"Yes, Alya?"

"This Physics homework is gonna be killer. How about you, me, Marinette and Adrien get together and work on it this weekend?" Alya suggested.

Marinette bit back a horrified scream which threatened to escape from her, her eyes widening as she imagined all the potential opportunities to embarrass herself.

Nino consulted briefly with Adrien, who nodded in the affirmative. "I don't see why not..." Adrien shrugged.

"Okay, sure! When do we meet up?" Nino finally answered Alya.

Marinette actually _did_ let out a small horrified scream at these words.

"Would tomorrow at one PM be good enough for you both?" Alya queried.

"Well I wouldn't expect you to mean one _AM..._ " Nino joked.

Alya narrowed her eyes at him and he shuddered at the look she was giving him.

 _"One PM is fine with me!"_ he said in a rush.

"I thought so..." Alya said.

Marinette and Adrien shared a look, the dark-haired girl looking away quickly when she realised what she was doing.

"What about you, Adrien? Is that time good with you too?" Marinette ventured, actually not sounding squeaky-voiced as she had been expecting.

"It's fine with me too. I don't have anything scheduled this weekend..." Adrien smiled a smile that nearly had Marinette swooning (and did have Alya rolling her eyes).

"Okay then..." Alya did something on her phone as the group finally got up and headed for the door.

At the same time they headed out into the main part of the school, other students from the different classes emerged as well.

"We will meet at the library around one tomorrow afternoon, right?" Adrien asked, checking something on his phone. "Just making sure..."

"Yep!" Alya nodded. "Don't be late! Mendeleiv won't let _us_ be late!"

The boys walked away and it was then that Marinette seemed to regain some of her sense.

"I... how could you do that to me?!" Marinette asked of her best friend, looking embarrassed.

"Hey! We get some brilliant minds together to help us with some killer homework and spending time with our _love_ interests..." Alya waggled her eyebrows and was about to speak again when Marinette glared at her.

 _"Alya..."_ Marinette groaned exasperatedly.

 _"Marinette,"_ Alya shot back. "You have to get over this stupid shyness around him! You can't live the rest of your life like this!"

 _"I know..."_ Marinette wailed, her hands covering her face.

"Um... _Excuse me?_ " a female voice came from behind them.

Marinette and Alya turned to see a girl who looked slightly younger than them with tightly curled mid-back length turquoise hair pulled into a low ponytail by a black bow, light brown eyes and lightly tanned skin who wore a buttoned maroon vest over a white blouse, a short, pleated maroon skirt and black combat boots with maroon laces.

"Yeah?" Alya raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to ask Marinette what time her family's bakery opens tomorrow. I've heard so many good things about it and I want to get a cake for..." the girl paused, looking around. " _...someone's_ birthday tomorrow. I'd look it up online myself, but I accidentally left my phone at home..." the girl grimaced and Alya looked at her sympathetically, clutching her phone just a _little bit_ closer.

"You can always stop by today before we close at seven and place the order, then pick it up tomorrow, uh..." Marinette trailed off when she realised that she didn't know the girl's name.

"My name is Liliane," the girl spoke, smiling. "Liliane Lenoir. I am not surprised that you don't know me. I'm in the year below you. I certainly know about you two though. Daughter of the best bakers in Paris who also happens to be the apparent bane of Chloé's existence..."

"Wow. Everyone hates her..." Marinette murmured.

"I'm not surprised at that..." Alya commented.

"...and the lady behind the Ladyblog!" Liliane exclaimed.

"Another Ladybug fan?" Marinette asked.

"How could I _not_ be?!" Liliane asked, seemingly incredulous. "When she _and_ Chat Noir work so hard together to defend us all? Goodness knows, _I_ couldn't do what they do..."

 _"You know it!"_ Alya exclaimed.

"Anyway, thanks. I'll definitely be stopping by the bakery later to take care of that cake order. I'll probably end up buying other things to stuff my face with too... See you around!" the turquoise-haired girl waved before jogging off.

"I wonder why we've never noticed her around before..." Marinette thought aloud. 

"Especially with _that_ blue hair," Alya agreed, nodding. "Totally loving the shade though! Wait... I think I know her! Or at least, I know _of_ her _family_ in passing. Her parents are lawyers or something like that. Grégoire and Simone Lenoir..."

"Oh." Marinette shrugged. "Oh well. Anyway, wanna come over and get started on this so we can pretend to know something about Physics and _not_ look like idiots in front of the boys tomorrow?"

"Sure! We'd not want to look like an idiot in front of your _sweetheart,_ after all..." Alya teased.

_"ALYA!"_

Marinette stomped off, exasperated by her best friend, Alya's laughter ringing in her ears.

* * *

 

 The next day, Liliane was in her cosy bedroom- decorated in shades of blue, white and silver and with random posters hanging from the walls- bustling around as she packed a large, grey duffle bag with blue straps.

A black and white tuxedo cat with a navy blue collar around its neck watched lazily as the teen girl moved around the room.

" _It's my grandfather's birthday today, Lydie!_ I have to go celebrate it with him! Nobody else will..." Liliane scratched her cat's head lightly behind the ears and said cat closed her eyes and started to purr loudly.

A loud sharp knock on the door startled both girl and cat, sending the feline scampering straight into the open closet.

"EEP!" she squeaked, nearly dropping the bag that she'd forgotten that she was holding.

" _Liliane!_ Are you in there?" a woman's voice queried, sounding impatient.

"Yes, Mother! I am here!" Liliane called back, hoping that she sounded nonchalant.

The door opened and a woman with light brown hair pulled into a chignon, green eyes behind silver-framed, oval-shaped glasses and dressed in a dark green business suit stepped inside.

When Liliane took in the woman's attire, she raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to work today?" Liliane asked in surprise. "But it's _Saturday!_ "

"I have work to do, Liliane. You are well aware that justice doesn't wait. It doesn't do Saturdays off. Ask the criminals." Simone Lenoir spoke firmly.

 _"Of course."_ Liliane rolled her eyes. "Justice doesn't wait..."

"Where are you going so early today? You do not have your ballet classes until one PM and you don't normally get up early on weekends unless you absolutely have to..." Simone glanced at the digital clock on the dresser (which showed 8:17 AM) and then regarded her daughter suspiciously.

"Just... going to visit Gramps today, Mother." Liliane turned to a nearby mirror and pulled her hair up into a bun with a pink band with a little pink bow on one side around it. "Has Father left for the airport already?"

"He has. His flight to Switzerland leaves in about two hours or so. You should know this..." Simone said.

Liliane noted (unsurprisingly to her) that her mother failed to acknowledge her own father's birthday.

"You had better remember to get to your ballet class on time, whether you're visiting _him_ or not." Simone turned and left.

" _Fine,_ Mother. Father's on his way to Switzerland, you've got work to do and I have a ballet class to get to. Fine. _I get it._ I will be there." Liliane rolled her eyes.

"But _not_ before I visit Gramps. _Someone's_ got to celebrate and have fun with him since Gran died and since _his own daughter_ is too heartless to do it or even remember his birthday _at all..._ " Liliane fumed a bit. "...it's up to me..."

With that, she fixed a few stray strands of hair back into the bun, swiped on some lip gloss and was out the door.

* * *

An old man, bent slightly and using a shiny, mahogany carved tripod walking stick to help him move around, watered the plants and flowers in the backyard of his ground floor apartment, happily humming an upbeat tune.

His ash grey hair was low cut and as he finished up and removed his gardening gloves, light brown eyes behind rectangular-framed glasses surveyed his work, pleased with what he had done.

 _"Well then Vincent, you managed to get those new plants that you wanted and they really do look lovely with the others, just as you imagined..."_ he mused aloud.

The doorbell rang.

"Oh! That must be Liliane! She did say she'd try to come over today..."

Vincent's eyes lit up at the thought as he made his way over to the door.

When he opened it, it was to see Liliane standing there, duffel bag over her shoulder, carrying a cake box in one hand and a potted plant in another.

"Happy Birthday, Gramps!" She beamed as she strode in the door, casually shrugged off the duffel bag, tossing it into a nearby armchair and gently placing both the cake box and the potted plant on a nearby table.

" _Liliane!_ I'm glad you managed to come! And thank you!" Vincent beamed as his granddaughter hugged him tightly and he hugged her back, enjoying the warmth.

"I'm sorry Mother couldn't come. I wanted to at least get her to try, but once again, work got in the way..." Liliane rolled her eyes, even as she hugged her grandfather.

The old man sighed sadly. "I am not surprised. She has been like that for years. Even as a child, she was always a bit... _aloof..._ " he rubbed Liliane's hair lightly as they broke apart from the hug.

"Has Oncle Benoit called at least?" Liliane queried as she moved the plant outside to join the others.

"He _has!_ He called before you even, actually." Vincent said. "He said he would have liked to come to visit me for the weekend, but for him, his wife and your cousins to fly over from Canada only to spend a few days... He's just going to wait until that contract of his is up in a few months..." Vincent spoke cheerfully.

"That's good to hear." Liliane said.

"He wants to Skype with me, but you have to show me exactly _how_ to use this Skype thing though. I understand most modern technology and I can usually work my way around a computer quite fine, but this programme befuddles me for some reason..." Vincent scowled briefly, his expression making the teenage girl giggle.

"It really is not as bad as you make it seem, you know..." Liliane still looked amused, even after she stopped giggling. "You actually used to teach Math at _Lycée,_ so you aren't stupid. Plus you managed to help me bring up grades in that subject and saved me from getting crucified by _both_ parents, which is a miracle right there, I can tell you that..."

Vincent gave her a look over the top of his glasses.

"Don't look at me like that! I will show you later, I promise! For now, do you want to have some of this cake I brought for you? I got it from the Dupain Bakery. I heard that their things are amazing. I tried out their éclairs yesterday when I went to order your cake and they were absolutely _divine..._ "

"Ah!" Vincent smiled. "I've only been there once, but I did enjoy what I bought there when I went..." he headed over to the dining room table as Liliane brought the box over and opened it up, revealing a lovely square-shaped cake, iced with white and various shades of green.

"Do you like it?" Liliane queried, suddenly looking a bit nervous. "It's vanilla, since I know you don't really like the 'fancier' flavours and I know that green is your favourite colour and..."

"This is fine, mon chérie. _Merci._ " Vincent hugged her reassuringly. _"Merci beaucoup."_

Liliane smiled as she fetched a knife and some plates.

"Oh! oh! Candles! I forgot to buy candles! How are you going to blow out the candles when I didn't buy any?" Liliane suddenly remembered and started to fuss.

Vincent rolled his eyes at his granddaughter's antics. "Liliane, I don't need candles. Spending time with you is enough. Besides, all those candles couldn't possibly fit on this cake."

"Silly Gramps. I'd have gotten the number candles!" Liliane giggled. "Now hush up and eat some cake!" She slid a plate of the sweet food in front of him.

"With an argument like that, how could I possibly resist?" Vincent took a bite of the cake and immediately was in bliss.

Liliane took her own slice as well and soon both were just happy to be eating cake and enjoying each other's company.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette never knew that studying Physics could be so hard, even with your crush (who happens to be brilliant at the subject) helping you. Meanwhile, Liliane's visit with her grandfather goes downhill and Hawkmoth decides to use this to his advantage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's taken me almost a month to update this. Oops...
> 
> Also, look out for a Harry Potter crossover from me somewhere in the not too distant future. That should be fun...

"I'm going to hate this. I'm going to hate this. I am _totally_ and _completely_ going to hate this..." Marinette moaned as she and Alya entered the local public library.

"We're just going to do _homework,_ Marinette. Relax." Alya rolled her eyes. "You act as if we're about to go face Hawkmoth himself or something!"

_"We might as well be..."_ Marinette thought.

"We're not just doing homework though. We're doing homework with _Adrien!_ " She squeaked, holding her books and stationery close as if her life depended on it.

Alya sighed. "And Nino too, but let's just completely forget about that in favour of your crush that quite frankly is getting quite ridiculous at this point..."

Marinette turned around to glare at her best friend, but the redhead was completely unperturbed by the glare.

"You're going to have to get over yourself and tell him about your feelings at some point. You can't go on like this forever!" Alya exclaimed.

"Oh yes I can!"

Alya simply sighed again and face-palmed.

"Come on, girl. We've got more important things than crushes to focus on right now. Like homework. Very difficult homework..." Alya gripped Marinette's shoulder firmly with one hand and carried her supplies under her other arm and steered her towards a table near the back of the library.

Whipping out her phone and making sure it was on vibrate (and she reminded Marinette to do the same), she sent a quick text to Nino to let him know exactly where they were.

A few minutes later, he and Adrien showed up with their own books and stationery.

"Hey ladies. Ready to work?" Adrien beamed at them as he set down his things on the table.

"No, not really, no. I hate Physics. I'm terrible at it..." Marinette opened her textbook to the relevant pages and looked at the book in despair.

"I've got no love for the subject either, but I figure the sooner we try to get it out of the way, the better." Alya shrugged.

As Marinette tried to work through some of the exercises that they had been assigned, she felt as if her brain was shrivelling up and her head began to hurt.

The writing in the textbook might as well have been in Chinese instead of French (which was especially pitiful as she was actually half-Chinese and couldn't speak even a single word of that particular Asian language) because as hard as she tried on her own, she just couldn't seem to grasp it.

_"Why is Physics so hard?"_ Marinette groaned exasperatedly, her head slamming into the table, the noise on impact drawing stares and disapproving glances from the other library patrons around them. _"Being Ladybug is easier than this..."_ she thought.

"Ah, it's not so bad, Marinette. What is it you don't understand?" Adrien asked her.

Without looking up, she slid the textbook and her notebook across the table to him.

After examining them for a few minutes, he nodded.

"It's not really so bad. I just think you're overlooking a few things. Alya, mind trading seats with me so I can show her what to do?" Adrien asked the bespectacled girl.

" _Sure,_ Adrien!" Alya exclaimed, giggling as she took in Marinette's horrified expression and whispered pleas for her to stay.

Adrien slid in the chair next to Marinette's and she nearly slid down in her own chair, willing the floor beneath her to open and swallow her up.

"Tikki, _help me..._ " she whispered down to her purse.

Tikki merely giggled and snuggled deeper into the purse.

She shut it quickly and turned her attention back to Adrien.

"Physics doesn't have to be as bad as you (and a lot of other people) make it seem. This exercise is actually pretty easy. Let me explain the first one to you so you know what to do for the others..." Adrien put the textbook between them, pulled a sheet of paper from his own folder, grabbed a pen and started writing as he explained to Marinette, who was doing her best to give him her full attention.

Across the table and unbeknownst to the pair, Alya and Nino high-fived each other under the table and snickered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Liliane and her grandfather sat together on the sofa, talking about various things.

"Maman and Papa take care of most of needs and I am grateful for that. What I usually spend my allowance on is my snack stash and hair care." Liliane flicked her hair, proudly showing it off.

"And what nice hair it is too." Vincent reached over to touch it lightly. "So soft and curly. I could _never_ pull off that colour though."

Liliane giggled. "You're right. It would look ridiculous on you! Your hair's not so bad for an old guy though!"

"I am not _that_ old..." Vincent looked indignant.

"You are, but that's okay. I love you anyway." Liliane shook her head amusedly. "Back on topic though... I wish Maman would show me that she loves me sometimes. I'm sure she does, deep, _deep_ down somewhere, but she never shows it! Papa is strict too, but at least he smiles and hugs me sometimes..." she sighed. "I must sound so ungrateful..."

"If she didn't care at all, she wouldn't even acknowledge your existence. I think she is trying, but she does not handle emotional matters well. Not even when she was young. I'm glad Grégoire somehow managed to break through that or the world wouldn't have you. I wouldn't have you, the best granddaughter in the world!" Vincent smiled and his granddaughter smiled back, then hugged him.

Just then, Liliane's cell phone rang to the tune of Jagged Stone's latest song and she glanced at the screen to see a picture of a girl her age with auburn hair in a bob, blue eyes and freckles come up, labelled as _Anaïs Bardot_.

Anaïs didn't even give Liliane an explanation before she cut off her hello with a: _"You are in **so** much trouble right now Liliane!"_

" _What?_ What do you mean I'm in trouble? What did I do?" Liliane asked confused.

"Where the hell are you? You _missed_ ballet class! Your mother came to pick you up, but you didn't show!" Anaïs exclaimed. "Hélène and I could have covered for you if you had let us know you were going to skip..."

_"Merde..."_ Liliane whispered, chills going down her spine. "I forgot to go to my ballet class! I actually _forgot_ to go! Maman is going to kill me! She's going to forget what her job is and outright murder me! _Doux Jésus, je vais mourir..._ " her eyes widened.

The doorbell rang and Liliane dropped the phone.

_"Père!"_ Liliane's heart started to race as her mother's irritated voice came through the door. "Is my daughter in there with you now?!"

"Don't do it, Gramps. Don't open the door. _Don't do it if you want me to live!_ " Liliane begged him.

Vincent sighed. "I am not going to lie to my daughter, Liliane. I am not going to lie to your mother..."

And with that, he went to unlock the door.

In the doorway, stood a clearly angry Simone Lenoir with her arms folded across her chest.

" _Liliane Morgane Lenoir,_ stop that nonsense this instant." Simone's tone was cool as she addressed the teenage girl, who had made a poor attempt at hiding behind her grandfather.

She stepped out from behind her grandfather, looking sheepish as she refused to meet her mother's gaze.

" _Forgetting_ to go to your ballet class. Really Liliane? Really? You should be ashamed of yourself, forgetting your _responsibilities_ like that..." Simone glared at her daughter.

_"Oh?"_ Liliane straightened up, finally looking her mother in the eye. " _Just like how you're ashamed of forgetting your own father's birthday?_ That is much more important than ballet, by the way..."

" _Get out,_ Liliane. My car is parked where it usually is. Wait for me there. We will be talking about this later." Simone pointed towards the door and sulking, Liliane gathered up her things and stomped out.

The door slammed loudly behind the teenage girl and then, it was just the two adults left alone.

"You put entirely too much pressure on that girl, you know." Vincent spoke quietly after a few moments, but there was an undercurrent of anger in his words. "She meant no harm today. She loves ballet. She would never _intentionally_ miss it!"

"She is _my_ daughter, not yours." Simone spoke coldly. "I know how to raise her."

"She is only _thirteen years old,_ Simone. She will not see things the way that you or I would, no matter how much you try. You have her doing so many things. Ballet. Violin. Swimming. I even hear that you want to get her started on _another_ foreign language besides English. _At least you let her drop Karate after she earned her black belt..._ She gets decent grades now." Vincent counted off those things on his fingers. " _She cannot..._ You cannot expect perfection in all of those things! You are _never_ going to have the perfect daughter. If you aren't careful, she _will_ come to resent you _and_ see all of those things as a burden _instead_ of making her well-rounded!"

"The only burden I see here is **_you._** "

Vincent stepped back from his daughter, leaning on his walking stick, his expression looking as if she had slapped him.

_"What?"_ he asked as if he couldn't believe the words that had just come out of his daughter's mouth.

Which in fact, he couldn't.

"You heard me, _Father._ " Simone's tone was somehow even frostier than before. "Ever since _Maman_ died, Liliane seems to have taken it upon herself to spend even more time with you. Look at what it is doing! It is making her forget her responsibilities, be late for her appointments... _What will be next?_ Using you as a cover to sneak off with some degenerate boyfriend?! I have a mind to forbid her from coming here!"

Vincent narrowed his eyes at his daughter, for a moment failing to believe that _he_ had helped to produce such a creature. _"You wouldn't sink so low..."_

"I wouldn't call it sinking low. I call it setting boundaries and enforcing Grégoire's law and mine. You seem to have forgotten about such things in your old age. I only hope you are not going senile. You developing Alzheimer's disease would only make things worse on me right now. That is the _last_ thing I need right now..."

With that, she turned on her (rather high) heel and walked out, shutting the door behind her none too gently.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Vincent sunk into a nearby chair, covering his face with his hands and sighing sadly, wondering exactly what he and his deceased wife had done wrong in regards to their daughter.

* * *

 

 Somewhere in Paris, a circular window opened, letting light into a dark room in which a masked man stood, white butterflies fluttering agitatedly around his feet.

"Ah. The feeling that despite your best efforts, that you've failed to be a good parent. What a wonderful new host for my Akuma..."

As Hawkmoth spoke, he held out his dark-gloved hand and one of the many butterflies in the room landed on it, contrasting brilliantly against the glove.

He clasped his hands over it and imbued it with dark energy, turning it a purplish black.

As soon as it had completely turned, it flew through the window and soared over the Parisian skyline.

_"Take flight, my little Akuma and comfort that utterly disrespected man!"_

* * *

 

 Vincent wiped his face and made to get up from his seat in the chair.

"I can only hope that Simone doesn't punish Liliane too harshly for this." he though aloud, failing to notice the Akuma flying in through the open backyard door. "It was an accident and she would never _de-_ "

His speech was cut off when the Akuma landed on his walking stick before he could actually get up from the chair.

He sat up abruptly with a little gasp as the Akuma was absorbed into the walking stick.

Vincent's expression instantly went from sad to furious as under his eyes became reddish and the outline of a purple butterfly framed his face.

_"Feeling utterly disrespected by one of those who should have the most respect for you? Children truly can be **so** ungrateful..." _ Hawkmoth's tone was smooth as he addressed his latest victim, who was already completely enraptured. _"My name is Hawkmoth and you shall henceforth be known as Geriatrico. I will give you the gift of taking youth away from those who are undeserving and using it to become stronger than you ever were before. All I ask in exchange is that you obtain two small items for me: Ladybug's and Chat Noir's Miraculouses..."_

Vincent smiled, but it was not a smile filled with joy.

It was one of pure _evil._ Comparable to a sadist about to torture his latest victim.

" _With great pleasure, Hawkmoth._ Someone ought to teach these young people a lesson about respecting their elders..."

Already lost to the Akuma's control, Vincent stood up as the purplish black mass of energy engulfed him and his walking stick from head to toe.

* * *

 Liliane sat in the passenger seat of her mother's car, fuming over what she'd overheard her mother telling her grandfather.

She was absolutely furious with her mother. How could she be so cruel? _So heartless_ to her own father? He'd done nothing to deserve it!

When Simone had finished telling him off, Liliane had just barely managed to scarper out of the building and to her mother's car, parked just a few metres away.

It was only a few minutes afterwards that her mother returned to the car and begun to drive off without a word to her daughter.

"Why?" Liliane finally asked after a while. "Why would you ever want to talk to him like that? Your own father? He's done nothing to deserve you talking to him like that!"

"We are _not_ discussing this now, Liliane." Simone spoke through her teeth as she focused on navigating the Parisian traffic.

"Why not? _It's his birthday!_ You could have given him a break! How could you call him a burden? And you think _I'm_ disrespectful?!" Liliane exclaimed.

The car stopped suddenly as a beam of light from the sky hit the street in front of them, turning it into a patch of dirt instead of a nice, paved road.

Simone narrowly managed to hit the brakes before driving into it, but it was no use as the glow covered the entire road, completely turning it into a dirt path.

A figure floated down from the sky in front of them and stood in the midst of the road.

He was an elderly man wearing a dark brown, butterfly shaped mask and his hair and clothing looking as if he'd stepped out of a painting set in the late 1700s with a dark brown, high-collared tailcoat made of what looked to be a combination of silk and cotton with frills at the sleeves which went over a cream and brown striped vest, dark brown pants tucked into knee high white socks and brown shoes.

Grasped firmly in his right hand was a tripod walking cane that looked as if it had been carved out of burnt wood and the carvings in it looked like butterflies.

He cackled before pointing the cane at the car that Liliane and her mother were sitting in, wide-eyed.

"Liliane, we should run." Simone said.

They both ducked out of the car screaming, just as a beam of light came from the tip of the cane pointed at it.

When it engulfed the car and the light disappeared, it turned into a horse and carriage and the man who'd caused it glowed briefly with a black aura, chuckling to himself.

"People these days have no respect for their elders, so I'm going to show them how it feels to be old and a burden for once!" he shouted for all the Parisians who were still present to hear.

Liliane looked at the latest Akuma victim, studying him closely.

She took in the look of his face, and then the walking stick...

_"Grand-père?!"_ Liliane whispered, horrified.

She glanced at her mother, who was holding her daughter's shoulders protectively.

"Just so you know, _Maman,_ " Liliane spat. "I consider this to be _your_ fault."

Her grandfather... _the Akuma..._ noticed them just then and pointed the cane at them, its tip glowing.

They ran, narrowly missing being hit.


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien and Plagg were browsing the reference section some time later, the former making some choices of books to take back with him to the table where his friends were working and the latter, sitting atop Adrien's shoulder and keeping up a quiet commentary on how the study session had been going so far.

_"Wow, Adrien! Who knew my Holder would be so smart?"_ the Kwami said. _"From what I understand, Physics isn't an easy subject for most humans to learn, yet here you are breaking it down like an expert for your friends!"_

Adrien rolled his eyes. _"You make it sound like I'm some sort of super genius, Plagg. I'm not. I just enjoy the challenge. Physics is challenging for me but it's not difficult. Besides, it helps keep my mind sharp and I need it now more than ever since I got stuck with the likes of you..."_

_"Hey!"_ Plagg exclaimed, indignant.

Adrien looked around, wide-eyed and shushed the Kwami.

_"Relax, Adrien. Nobody heard me."_ Plagg waved him off. " _Speaking of being a genius though, you know what would be really smart of you?"_

Adrien sighed. _"Feeding you?"_

" _Correct!_ You might just be a genius after all!" Plagg exclaimed.

_"I fed you before we left home this morning. A big wheel of Camembert. What more could you possibly want?"_ Adrien asked.

_" **More** Camembert!"_ Plagg hissed.

"Now you're just being greedy..."

Adrien shushed him again, before gathering up the books in his arms and carrying them back to the table.

* * *

 

"And that is a wrap!" Alya stretched in her chair as she shut her notebook and tossed aside her pen. "I'm glad that's over. I'd glad if I never saw another Physics textbook ever again!"

"You said it, Alya..." Nino groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Physics sucks. Adrien's my best pal and all, but even _I_ don't get how he actually likes this stuff. It's like, academic _torture,_ man..."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "I guess I can see why people would find Physics hard, but I think you're kind of exaggerating things now, Nino. Physics isn't torture."

"I'd have to disagree with you on this one, Adrien. Physics is horrible. It's even worse than Math and I absolutely **_hate_** math." Alya said.

"It's settled. _Physics sucks._ You've been outvoted, Adrien." Marinette looked as if she were in a daze as she spoke (partly because of the workout her brain had just gotten, partly because of talking to her crush).

"Ah well. You win some, you lose some." Adrien shrugged.

He checked his watch. "Since we've finished ahead of time, why don't we all go catch a movie or something? I think we deserve it after all the hard work we just put in..."

Marinette's eyes widened. " _Going... to the movies with Adrien? **Me...** going to movies with **Adrien?** " _she thought anxiously.

"It's a date!" Alya agreed, winking at Nino as the two looked between Marinette and Adrien, both of whom missed the byplay.

"I... I have no _p... problem_ with that." Marinette finally managed to get out.

"Great!" Adrien beamed. "Let's get going!"

* * *

As they sat together on the Métro, the four teens eagerly chatted about the movies that were available for viewing at their intended destination.

"I'm in the mood for a _horror_ film." Nino hissed, stretching his hands out in front of him and groaning as if he were a zombie, attracting stares from the other passengers around them.

"No way!" Alya exclaimed, disgusted.

She tapped her phone a few times, brought up the movie schedule and proudly displayed a poster for the latest superhero movie to come out.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for this movie to come out?!" she asked excitedly, positioning her phone so all four of them could see the screen clearly. "I love action movies! Especially when they involve superheroes! We _need_ to go see this!"

"I'd rather not." Marinette folded her arms. "I'm not in the mood for seeing lots of exploding things, gunshots and people running around in spandex, thank you very much. How about a nice comedy? We could all do with some laugher, _especially_ after that assignment we just had to do..."

"I agree with Marinette. Why not watch something funny? I love comedies! Sure, I'll watch horror movies and action flicks, but what's wrong with a little laughter?" Adrien asked.

Marinette blushed slightly and sunk down into her chair slightly upon hearing Adrien agree with her.

As Alya pulled her back up to prevent her falling onto the subway floor and embarrassing herself further, she shared a look with Nino.

They smirked at one another.

_"Sure..."_ Alya gave Marinette a sly glance once she'd made sure the other girl was safely seated. "We could go for a comedy then. We've been outvoted, _haven't we,_ Nino?" she winked at him.

"Oh, yeah! For sure! Outvoted for sure! Guess we'll go see that comedy movie then!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, no, no, no! We can see something el-" Adrien was cut off by Nino.

"It's fair. We really don't mind. This one is on my list of movies to see anyway." Nino shrugged.

"And we'll make it to the next showing with half an hour to spare. That settles it!" Alya exclaimed, pocketing her phone as she did.

The train came to a stop a few minutes later and they hopped out, along with other passengers.

They talked amicably as they walked up the exit stairs.

_"Maybe we can get you sitting next to Adrien,"_ Alya whispered as she and Marinette walked just behind Adrien and Nino. _"you could share the biggest bucket of popcorn ever and have this giant cup of soda that you'd share, doing the two straw thing. It would be so **adorable!** "_

_"Then I'd spill the popcorn all over myself and Adrien, then spill the soda, making us all sticky, and some of it would get on people around us and they'd kick us out for disturbing the movie and I'll never get a chance to go out with Adrien again!"_ Marinette whispered back, all while imagining the aforementioned things happening, making herself even more nervous as a result.

Alya sighed.

They finally stepped outside- and then their excited charter trailed off as they stopped in their tracks when they realised that it looked remarkably different to what they- or anyone else would have expected- at least, in this time period.

It looked as if they had taken a time machine back to the 1940s. Some of the more modern buildings that had been built in the area- or at least, where they had known them to be- were now older looking ones; the cars along the street looked like ones that belonged in an antique museum and the people...

"Since when does Paris have so many old people in it?" Adrien wondered, raising an eyebrow at the sight of several elderly people hurrying down the street, in particular a woman dressed in clothes that looked even older than she appeared to be and wheeling herself down the street in a wheelchair.

"And why do they have to wear such _ugly_ clothes? _Eew!_ " Alya shuddered.

"So... why is no one questioning why it looks like _we've gone back in time?!_ " Nino asked, beginning to freak out.

The old woman Adrien noticed looked up and when her gaze landed on the four teens, her eyes widened.

"Quick, you four! You have to get out of here before he finds you! Before he drains you too!" the woman exclaimed.

"Before _who_ drains us?" Nino asked. "Is it an Akuma?!"

At the word _Akuma,_ Adrien and Marinette tensed up, but Alya got out her phone.

Screams rang out from several streets away and they heard the loud cackling of someone who had obviously been corrupted over the din of the screams.

"We need to get out of here!" Marinette's eyes went wide.

As they ran, they became separated when Alya and Nino ducked back into the Métro station, Marinette ducked into one alleyway and Adrien ducked into another a few blocks down.

"Marinette opened her purse and Tikki flew out.

"Looks like you've got some trouble to attend to, Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed. "Just say the words!"

_"Right!"_ Marinette nodded.

_"Tikki, **transforme-moi!** "_

* * *

 In his alleyway, Adrien lifted his jacket and Plagg flew out.

"Looks like this Akuma might have the ability to age up things. Better be careful whoever it is doesn't turn you into an antique!" the Kwami exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Plagg. They won't." Adrien vowed.

"Whoever said I was worr-"

_"Plagg, **transforme-moi!** "_

The Kwami was cut off when Adrien called out for his transformation, exclaiming indignantly as he was absorbed into the ring.

"Time to go see what's causing the trouble this time.." He activated his staff, used it to propel himself to the top of the nearest building and started jumping across rooftops to reach his destination.

* * *

"At this point, I'm just glad I work out. And that you do as well, through your various activities..." Simone panted as she and Liliane ran for their lives, away from the chaos that the elderly Akuma was causing.

"That wouldn't be necessary if you'd just been a _decent human being!_ " Liliane shrieked. "You know by now that Akumas happen when people get really pissed off about something and that Hawk Moth man corrupts them!"

"It's not my fault that he is so weak!" Simone said.

"What the hell, Maman? _Seriously?_ Where is your soul?" Liliane somehow managed to glare at her mother angrily as they ran, only to be cut off by the Akumatised walking stick as it came crashing down in front of them, followed by its owner, who promptly grabbed it and gave it a little twirl.

Simone and Liliane screamed.

"What's the matter, you two? Don't like the fact that an old, _senile_ man is running things now?" he snarled. "Who helped make the pathway for you _ungrateful_ young people to become what you are today?"

Mother and daughter started backing up, terror evident in their faces, but the Akuma-tised Vincent simply matched their every step.

" _Père,_ you need to stop this foolishness at once! How will this rage help you?!" Simone exclaimed.

"Don't blame me, when you're the cause, Simone!" he snarled.

"Grand-père, please!" Liliane's eyes were wide. "You don't have to this! Where's the kind, lovable, old man that's inside?"

"He's gone, now. _He's gone and he's not ever coming back!_ Geriatrico is here to stay young lady!" the Akuma declared.

The purple butterfly outline appeared around his face and he heard Hawk Moth's voice in his mind.

_"I would appreciate it if you would stop with that pointless conversation and remember your task for me!"_ Hawk Moth commanded. _"Either take their youth or take them hostage, as long as it helps you get the Miraculous!"_

_"I've not forgotten you, Hawk Moth. Geriatrico's not senile, unlike many of his more unfortunate cohorts, after all."_ Geriatrico reassured him.

The butterfly outline disappeared.

"Hawk Moth's rather respectful when giving his commands. And right now, you're nothing but a distraction to the task he's given me." Geriatrio sneered as he raised the walking stick and pointed it at them.

Mother and daughter screamed as the walking stick started glowing ominously and Simone ducked to the ground, covering her daughter protectively.

She and Liliane looked up at Gertiatrico, two pairs of eyes meeting a single, hardened pair.

"Grand-père, please! _Don't do it!_ This isn't like you! You're being possessed!" Liliane begged.

Geriatrico seemed to pause. "Hmm... I suppose I could spare you, young lady. _You_ were polite." he used the walking stick to bat Liliane aside, sending her crashing into a nearby lamppost and sliding down it, dazed and groaning.

_" **You** on the other hand..." _ Geriatrico snarled at Simone and charged up a blast to aim at her. _"You don't deserve **any** mercy!"_

As soon as it fired, the walking stick was hit by a certain silver staff, sending the aim of the blast off-kilter and making it hit a parked car, turning it into a buggy and the walking stick went flying through the air towards a nearby carriage.

The staff bounced back into the gloved hand of Chat Noir, who stood on top of a nearby building, surveying the scene below him.

Geriatrico growled up at him, while beckoning towards his walking stick, which went flying right back into his grasp.

_"How **dare** you..."_

"How dare I indeed. What's up with you attacking these lovely ladies?" Chat jumped down from the roof landing right between Geriatrico and Simone.

"Utterly disrespectful young people... they don't think that the elderly have feelings, hopes and dreams- if not for themselves, but for their families! I, _Geriatrico_ will show all of Paris what it feels like!" Geriatrico fired a blast, but Chat twirled his staff, deflecting it into the ground, which immediately began turning into a dirt trail.

"And how do you think _your_ family feels about this?" Ladybug jumped down next to Chat Noir.

"Ladybug! Nice of you to drop in!" Chat grinned at her, but she rolled her eyes.

"No time to chat, Chat." she said. "What's the deal with this one?"

"Calls himself Geriatrico. Old guy got Akumatised because younger family members were 'utterly disrespectful' to him, apparently because of his age..." Chat Noir shrugged.

Ladybug glanced back at the Lenoir women, eyes widening briefly when she recognised Liliane.

"Cover for me. I'll get these two somewhere safe, since it seems he's after them..." Ladybug moved towards them without waiting for an answer.

"Let's go!" She grabbed Liliane under her arm and ran off with her, Simone running close behind.

Once they'd gotten some distance away, Ladybug set Liliane down, her mother taking her from the spotted superheroine.

"The villain... _Geriatrico..._ he _was_ after me." Simone admitted. "He's my father. I... perhaps I was a bit disrespectful to him."

_"A bit?"_ Liliane spoke incredulously, finally beginning to recover. _"_ And on his _birthday_ too? She called him a... _urgh!_ " she growled.

She looked up to meet Ladybug in the eyes.

"Please save him and try not to hurt him too much. He's my grand-père. He's normally _very_ sweet, kind, understanding... but _this..._ " Liliane looked almost ready to cry. "I guess it just took this _one_ thing for Hawk Moth to prey on..."

"We'll save him, Chat Noir and I..." Ladybug put a hand on her shoulder. "Promise."

"The Akuma is highly likely to be in his walking stick. Liliane got it for him when she noticed that he was having a bit of a problem walking... before I did..." Simone had the decency to look at least slightly ashamed when she confessed.

"Wait!" Liliane suddenly perked up. "I know you're about to go battle grand-père and all, but... can I get a quick picture with you?" she shoved her cell phone into her mother's hands and looked so eager that Ladybug couldn't help but giggle.

"Okay, but just a quick one!" she agreed, posing in the picture by putting an arm around Liliane's shoulder and giving a thumbs-up to the camera with Liliane waving at the camera, beaming brightly.

"I've got to go stop Geriatrico and get him back to you safe and sound. You'll see your grand-père again soon, I promise!" Ladybug waved to them as she took off.

_"Wow..."_ Liliane looked at the photo on her phone, as if in a trance.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out my latest story, Scarlet Fox! It's a crossover with Harry Potter that I'm sure you will enjoy, featuring a Miraculous!Harry!

_"For an old guy, this one sure is fast!"_ Chat thought, wide eyed as he dodged yet another blow from Geriatrico's Akumatised walking stick.

He'd already been hit by the thing _twice_ and he wasn't exactly eager to see what it would feel like a third time.

That thing _really hurt._

"You think that you can beat me with that silly weapon of yours?" Geriatrico scoffed.

Chat used his fully extended staff to block another blow from the walking stick with a grunt. "It's not so silly as it's worked well enough for me so far beating back Akumas like you!"

"I'll have you know that when I was your age I was a damn good athlete and now with Hawk Moth's help, I feel young again, just like _that!_ I'm _more_ than a match for you!" Geriatrico exclaimed. " _Don't_ underestimate me because of my age! _You young people, always treating us like bad guys just because we've lived longer and see things differently!_ "

" _Hawk Moth_ is the bad guy here. He's not _helping_ you. He's _hurting_ you!" the feline superhero exclaimed, dodging another blow from the walking stick.

The butterfly outline appeared around Geriatrico's face as Hawk Moth's voice echoed in the elderly villain's mind: " ** _LIES!_** _Chat Noir is lying to you! **He's** the bad guy here. Teach him to show some respect to his elders- and get his ring while you're at it!"_

Geriatrico smirked.

He dashed around Chat Noir and kicked his legs from beneath him, making the feline superhero fall to the ground with a thud, the wind knocked out of him.

"Seriously! How is it that you old people move so fast- _even with superpowers?_ "

Chat rolled out of the way of a blast from the walking stick and scrambled for his staff, which had clattered across the dirt road when he'd fallen.

_"And to think that I thought today would have been a normal day. Hang out with friends, do homework together, see a movie afterwards."_ he thought. _"Then again, I've never had a normal life even before Plagg came into it..."_

"He's really hitting you hard, isn't he?" Ladybug landed in front of him as she spun her yo-yo to deflect another aging blast.

"You bet. He hasn't let up since you left!" Chat exclaimed. "How are those two ladies you escorted to safety doing?"

"They're safe for now. The younger one had her head banged up a bit and she's likely to have a concussion, but hopefully the Miraculous Cure will get rid of it. Goodness knows it's gotten rid of quite a few Akuma-induced headaches on my part..."

_"Preaching to the choir, Ladybug..."_ Chat muttered, briefly remembering all the times he'd been smacked around in rather humiliating ways by previous Akumas.

_"Get back here!"_ Geriatrico shrieked as he charged across the street at them, drawing their attention back towards their current predicament.

"What do we do?" Ladybug wondered aloud as she and Chat Noir ran through the streets, dodging attacks from the angry Akumafied, elderly man charging them.

"I don't know, My Lady!" Chat exclaimed. " _You're_ usually the one coming up with the _purr-_ fect plans!"

"True," Ladybug admitted. "I think you should have a turn at coming up with the brilliant ideas though!"

 "We've got to get that stick away from him! The Akuma's bound to be in that thing!" Chat exclaimed.

"I know. His granddaughter told me when I got her and her mother to safet-"

Ladybug's statement was cut off when Geriatrico finally caught up to them appearing in the sky right above them.

"Watch out, Chat!" she pushed him out of the way just as yet another one of Geriatrico's blasts charged towards them.

Chat and Ladybug bounced as they rolled down the sidewalk at top speed, before finally coming to a stop several metres away.

Ladybug had crashed into a tree, shaking all the leaves loose from it, covering the top half of her.

"LB! Are you okay?" Chat sprinted forward to help her.

Ladybug simply groaned as she stretched a hand from beneath the leaves for her partner to help her up.

Chat grasped her hand firmly and when he pulled her out and took a good look at her, he nearly let her fall back into the leaves again as he gasped in shock.

"What happened, Chat? Why are you-"

She looked around and caught a glimpse of herself in a nearby store window.

Her hair was now ash grey, her face had gained wrinkles, her posture wasn't as straight as it was before and she seemed to have shrunk by two or three inches.

Overall she looked as if she'd aged by at least fifty years.

She touched her face and hair as if she couldn't quite believe the sight but when it finally sunk in, she screeched in horror.

_"I'm... I'm OLD!"_ she wailed.

"You're not a bad looking old lady though." Chat said, looking her up and down appraisingly. "You age well- with grace, milady."

Ladybug face-palmed.

"Chat, _focus!_ " she snapped. "Raging Akuma on the loose!" she pointed up towards the airborne Akuma, who had the butterfly outline around his face as he aimed his walking stick at Chat Noir.

"True, true..." Chat twirled his staff, deflecting the elderly Akuma's blast. "I'm not ready to start going grey yet..."

Ladybug ran her fingers through her hair and groaned when she looked at a loose strand of her own grey hair.

She sighed.

"Well, at least it's not me this time." Chat dodged another blast. "It's a nice change of pace!"

Ladybug resisted the urge to smack him over the head with her yoyo, rolling her eyes instead.

Geriatrico blasted at them again which Ladybug managed to deflect with her yoyo.

"Let's go take cover and regroup. He's too powerful as he is right now and we'll never get the chance to take him down if he keeps going at us like this!"

Chat Nor shrieked as another blast narrowly missed him.

"You're right, milady. Let's _meow-ve_ out!"

"URGH!"


End file.
